


Selfish

by DeckofDragons



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Ghost isn't hollow, The Grimm Troupe DLC (Hollow Knight), they care about Grimmchild very much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23646835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeckofDragons/pseuds/DeckofDragons
Summary: Brumm offers to let Ghost banish the Troupe instead of completing the ritual. They're not sure if they should or not.
Relationships: Grimmchild & The Knight (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 97





	Selfish

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is actually the first Hollow Knight fic idea I had. And I wanted to write it really bad but I hadn't beaten the game yet so I didn't know everything I needed to know, meaning it had to wait. So I decided to make it a birthday gift for myself because why not?

Final flame collected, given freely by Brumm, it was time to return to the Grimm Troupe and complete the ritual. … Or not. Banishment was an option, ending the song and the Nightmare Heart’s cycle of rebirth, freeing the troupe from it.

Ghost wasn’t supposed to care about such a decision. They weren’t supposed to care about anything, many believed they didn’t. But they’d abandoned pretending to be hollow long ago. Not even the Hollow Knight was truly hollow so who could blame Ghost for not being so as well? That left them with a hard choice though.

They turned their head to look at Grimmchild resting on the bench beside them, his spindly wings curled around himself as he slept peacefully despite still being in Deepnest. They were by the Stag Station, probably the safest place down here, but the skittering of unseen creatures could still be heard. And yet Grimmchild felt safe enough to sleep without worry. … No one had ever trusted Ghost that much before.

If Ghost chose to banish the Troupe, what would become of Grimmchild? Without Grimm’s flame would he fade away and die or become something entirely different? Be his own person instead of a reincarnation of Grimm? They would’ve asked Brumm but alas, they couldn’t speak. But even if they had been able to ask, Brumm probably wouldn’t know anyway, right? It’s not like this had ever happened before. So Ghost was left to figure it out on their own.

On one hand, if the Troupe really were all unwilling slaves to the Nightmare Heart, then freeing them from it would be a good thing. Freeing Grimmchild from it might let him grow up as his own person, free of the ritual, free of being a reincarnation of his father. That was a big maybe though and it would most likely result in Ghost losing him regardless. And Ghost didn’t want that for entirely selfish reasons. They were lonely.

After escaping the Abyss and then Hollownest, they’d wondered far and wide before being called back to deal with Dreamers and Radiance. In all that time, never once had they ever had a true companion or friend. Never once had they had someone trust or care for them the way Grimmchild did. And it was impossible _not_ to return those feelings of trust and care even for a being like Ghost. And _that_ was what made the decision hard. Ghost would’ve been selfish without hesitation if they didn’t also want what was best for Grimmchild; what would make him happiest. What that would be was hard to guess, impossible to know for sure.

Tired of sitting and thinking, Ghost slid off the bench. They carefully scooped Grimmchild up into their arms, somehow not waking him in the process. Made partially of flame, he was warm; holding him against their chest felt nice.

Alas, his peaceful slumber only lasted up until Ghost rang the bell, summoning the Stag. He yawned and chirped but surprisingly didn’t resist Ghost’s gentle hold on him. He was probably tired, the trip through Deepnest to get here had been exhausting – in the process they’d also found the resting place of one the Dreamers, though Ghost would deal with that later, Grimmchild came first even if it was selfish. They did have to put him down when the Stag arrived though to point to Dirtmouth on the map.

The trip back up was long but the extra time didn’t help Ghost reach any decisions. The only thing left to do was ask Grimmchild what he wanted. His response to Brumm’s proposal had been surprise and that was it; he hadn’t seemed to like or dislike it. He seemed to trust Ghost would make the right decision; either the one he already thought was right or that Ghost would know what the right decision was.

Once in Dirtmouth, instead of heading towards the Troupe tents or the Howling cliffs where Brumm waited, Ghost went the opposite way, towards the well instead. Grimmchild followed of course, making a questioning chirp that Ghost wouldn’t have answered even if they were physically capable of doing so.

On the other side of the well but not too close to Jiji’s cavern, they stopped and sat in the soft dirt. They gestured for Grimmchild to join them, waiting until he’d settled next to them to start drawing in the dirt.

They drew Brumm, depicting him putting out the flames as best they could. Next to that, they drew Grimm with fire around him. Ghost could write words but he wasn’t sure Grimmchild would be read them, partial reincarnation of a nightmare god or not, he was still a child. Time in Hollownest was weird but he’d only been in this form of existence for a short time, certainly not long enough to learn to read – and Ghost certainly hadn’t even tried to start teaching him, having more important things to worry about. So hopefully pictures would get Ghost’s question across; what did _he_ want? To be free of the ritual or to continue it?

Grimmchild made a confused chirping sound as he looked at the pictures and then up at Ghost as they sat back. They nodded and pointed at him and then the pictures. This decision affected him the most so it made the most sense that he be the one to make the decision.

With a subdued, chirp Grimmchild looked back at the crude drawings. He stared at them for many minutes as Ghost sat and watched. It was a tense wait as they tried not to think too much about what they wanted Grimmchild to choose. Whatever he wanted, they would respect no matter how selfish they wanted to be.

Finally, after what felt like forever, though couldn’t have been more than five minutes, Grimmchild made his choice. He spat a fireball on the choice he didn’t want and gestured towards the one he did, making noises. … It was the picture of Grimm; he wanted to complete the ritual.

If Ghost could, they probably would’ve let out a sigh of relief. Instead they patted Grimmchild’s head, earning a soft nuzzle. They then stood and gestured for him to follow as they started back towards Dirtmouth where the Grimm Troupe awaited their return to complete the ritual.


End file.
